Zetsubou No Owari
by Candied Lime
Summary: A year has passed since Sotoba's end. Unbeknownst to the surviving villagers, two Okiagari continue to walk the Earth in secret. living only to protect one another. Seishin x Sunako


As the morning sun's unwelcoming rays were beginning to shine through the opened window of the cramped bedroom, as the night slowly decayed, as the hallowed darkness left once more, a deathly shriek echoed throughout the temporary home.

As the screams continued, the noise was soon followed by rustling sounds of panic from the next room. The cramped bedroom's door was abruptly pushed open, slamming into the wall from the opposite side, due to the striking force of a lavender-haired young man, appearing to be in his late 20's, clad in a plaid black-and-white tunic styled shirt and pure white jeans. The image before this man's eyes could very well have scared him into a second death.

In the bed facing his front lay a petite little girl, appearing no older than eleven or twelve, her eyes wide in horror, lidded with tears of bitter fear. Fangs subconsciously protruded from her mouth, as if the source of her cries were a physical being she could sink her teeth into to save herself. Her pale complexion on her right side was being slowly mutilated. The sound of delicate, soft skin sizzling and crackling rang in his ears, accompanied by screams that wouldn't cease. The singed portions of her epidermis were bubbling up into the air, taking the form of ash. The side of her face resembled the surface of the sun, resembled the coronas that rebel against gravity, that shoot outward into celestial hell.

"Sunako!"

Without thinking, he lunged forward with inhuman speed, and grabbed the shrieking girl from her bed. He held her face to his chest in hope of blocking the light. Her screams became muffled by his buttoned shirt.

When she was secure in his arms he dashed out of the room, finding the pleasant darkness of his bedroom. With no windows in the room, their safety was guaranteed. Sunako involuntarily fell into a deep sleep, still in his arms, unable to wake on her own accord. He slowly pulled her face away from his chest to see if the burns were still present. To his relief they have quickly healed, evidence of the singed skin no longer existed. He sighed in relief.

Her skin had returned to it's familiar pale color, nearly a pure white. Not one blemish was present. the man noticed this, noticed her beauty, for the first time in the year they had spent together on the run. Her face was flawless in his eyes, but he wondered, was it perfect because of her inhuman state? Or was she already this beautiful while she was alive? Did her inhuman qualities make her beautiful?  
He placed her on his bed, while brushing off his thoughts, and pulled the covers over her, baffled at why he would do such a thing. It's not like the warmth of a blanket is necessary for her. He concluded in his mind that he was subconsciously pretending that she needed the heat, pretending that she was human.

He returned to Sunako's quaint little bedroom, he gazed at his surroundings for a moment. Noticing how the room looked. It belonged to a young girl. Various stuffed animals lay on the dresser beside the door, none of which belonged to Sunako. The surface of the dresser, below the animals , was lined with a pale pink fabric, frilled at the ends. The pink cloth had matched the bed sheets, also frilled at the end. The pillows matched as well. The carpeting was a lavender color, it covered the room by abou feet, a seemingly small area. Other than the dresser and the bed, the room was oddly barren of anything else, with the exception of the curtains on the window, which were open widely, letting the sun shine through to the room. The lavender-haired man noticed this, and was dumbfounded. In the short period they have made their stay at this house, he made sure that the window was never open. He was aware of the danger that would fall upon Sunako if it was opened, so why would he forget? Why would it slip his mind if it is an important thing to be aware of? Why would he open it in the first place? He had no reason to. He concluded that it wasn't him who was responsible, someone else opened that window. But the house was in the middle of the countryside, there were no other dwellings for many kilometers.  
'Was it the owners of the house? No, it couldn't have been, Sunako made sure she had fed on and disposed of all the previous residents.' the man thought, slightly cringing inside at the image of the former inhabitants in his mind. He didn't wish to recollect the empty, lifeless eyes of the family's daughter. With them out of the way, there was a possibility that they were being followed.

Pulling out if his trance of thought, he approached the source of light in the room, and closed the window, the source of chaos that morning. He then returned to his bedroom across the hall where Sunako lay peacefully. He sat at the side of his bed, recollecting what had just taken place inside his head, thankful he was able to come to her rescue in time, but he wondered why she needed his help, she could have just left the room. Paralysis from fear, possibly? He shrugged it off. Oh well... he would find out for himself at dusk, when she would awaken from her sleep.  
He then sat back down at the desk of his makeshift room. His papers were in a disheveled mess. He happened to drop a folder full of his papers on the way out of his room when the danger occurred. He cleared his desk of everything unnecessary, and went back to the task of writing his new novel.

cxcxcxcxcxcxcxcxcxcxcxcxcxcxc

The day was done. The sun had descended from view, as one demon ascended, and rose up from her coma-like slumber.  
"Muroi-san?"  
Her voice from behind left him slightly startled, he didn't hear any noise from her as she had woken, aside from his name, which she had just uttered. He then swiveled his desk chair to face her.

"Hai, what is it? Are you well?" He asked, making direct eye contact.

She slumped over on his bed, avoiding his gaze.  
"... I hope I wasn't any trouble today. That's never happened to me before. Since the time of my rising, I have been careful enough to never encounter the sun... how irresponsible of me. I apologize..."

"it's alright. Your safety is important. Are you in any pain? Or have you completely healed?"

She lifted her head to meet his eyes.  
"None at all." she smiled. "Thank you for your concern."

"Well, I suppose that's that, only one thing troubles me now. Do you know who opened the window?" He asked.

"No, I don't, although know for a fact that it was not me. I would have no reason too after all." She slightly tilted her head, beaming him with her smile once again.

"it wasn't me either. We know for a fact that it wasn't the people who lived before us. Even if they had risen, we didn't invite anybody inside. They wouldn't be able to open anything from the outside either. We may have to consider the possibility that we are being followed."

"So it would seem..." Sunako lowered her head, ceasing to smile.

"It will be alright." Seishin reassured her. "I will protect you, at all costs."

**Author's note:**

**Well, that was my first chapter, for my first ever fanfic. :s I hope I did alright. I picked such a neglected pairing. **

**Anyways, read and review. Constructive criticism is appreciated. I want to become good at this ^-^ Your reviews motivate me to continue. **


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